Men's Tennis Headline

Coming
off a rivalry win over Florida State on Wednesday evening, the No. 22 Florida men’s
tennis team travels to College Station to start SEC play. The Gators will face
the 13th-ranked Aggies on Friday at 6 p.m. at the Mitchell Tennis Center.

Florida
took the 2013 match over Texas A&M, 4-3, in Gainesville to even the
all-time series between the conference opponents, 3-3. Senior Michael Alford clinched the match
for Florida last year with a hard-fought win over Texas A&M’s Shane
Vinsant, 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (5), at No. 4 singles.

While
the Gators currently own a 5-4 record on the year, all four losses have come to
teams ranked in the top-10 nationally: No. 1 Ohio State, No. 2 Southern Cal,
No. 4 UCLA and No. 6 Notre Dame. The Aggies’ squad enters tomorrow’s match at
9-4.

SEC
Showdown: Both
teams finished 7-5 in the SEC last year, tied for third in the conference. The
Gators and the Aggies prove to be a competitive beginning to conference play.

Shelton
Says: “Texas A&M is a quality program. They play
great in doubles and they play well at home. Their losses have only been to
teams ranked in the top-10 (No. 1 Ohio State, No. 3 Oklahoma, No. 7 Illinois
and No. 8 Baylor). It’s going to be tough starting SEC play out there, but I’m
excited and the team is excited to get out on the court and compete again. I
think our play has improved and is only going to continue to get better
throughout the season and I hope we can go into College Station tomorrow and
make a statement.”